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New research has revealed Pokemon Go users are twice as likely to reach their 10,000-steps-per-day goal.

The study suggests playing the popular augmented reality appp may increase people's daily steps.

The increase is especially prevalent among young adults with low physical activity levels.

In Pokemon Go, players move around a physical location capturing animated creatures on smartphones and other mobile devices.

The game became front page news when it was released amid a wave of publicity last July.

But, until now, few studies have examined whether playing the game can increase a person's physical activity levels.

Hanzhang Xu, a graduate student at Duke University School of Nursing in the United States, said: "We wanted to determine if Pok mon Go can provide an enjoyable way to engage people in regular physical activity.

"Our findings suggest that active-play games, such as Pokemon Go, may encourage people who live sedentary lifestyles, who otherwise may not participate in traditional forms of exercise, to increase their physical activity."

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The researchers recruited 167 iPhone users who had played Pokemon Go and asked them to provide screenshots of their daily steps reported by the iPhone Health app between June 15 and July 31 last year.

Before playing Pokemon Go, the participants walked an average of 5,678 steps. But the number soared to 7,654 after playing the game, an average increase of 1,976 steps each day.

The researchers also found that participants were twice as likely to reach 10,000 daily steps after playing Pok mon Go than they were before playing it.

The percentage of days in which the 10,000-daily step goal was reached increased from less than one in six (15.3 per cent) before playing Pokemon Go to more than one in four (27.5 per cent) after playing the game.

The participants with the lowest physical activity level at the start of the study walked nearly 3,000 additional steps each day after playing Pokemon Go.

Participants who were overweight or obese also walked around 3,000 additional steps per day.

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But although the researchers found a "significant increase" in physical activity after playing Pokemon Go, Ms. Xu warned the initial interest may decline over time.

She said that while the average increase of nearly 2,000 additional steps per day may seem small, previous studies show such an increase lowers the risk of having a heart attack or stroke by eight per cent in high-risk individuals.

And Ms Xu said mobile games incorporating physical activity into the gameplay may provide an alternative way to promote physical activity in people who are attracted to the game.

She added: "Considering the low level of physical activity in the United States, doing some physical activity is always better than sitting on the couch.

"While current physical activity guidelines recommend activity such as running or swimming to promote health and fitness, it should be noted that the best form of physical activity is the one that people will do.

"We think our study could have implications for the design of other digital health interventions that encourage people to exercise more."

The findings are due to be presented at the American Heart Association's Epidemiology and Prevention Scientific Sessions.